Help out there to whoever else has had steering knuckles going bad.
l have now replaced 2 and now one of the new ones is going bad.
When tightening, per the 37 pound torque lt seems to break them.
Any help would be appreciated.
l have a 2009 hhr ss with automatic, and it is custom painted
black with red on the bottom with a matching spoiler.

thanks for any help

 

you may want to call the chevy dealership and asked them what the torque is?

 

What is it you mean by steering knuckles?
Why would they need replacing?
How does a piece of cast alloy go bad?
Torque where?

 

I was going thru that in my noggin the hub bolts go thru the knuckle but aren't torqued to 37 lbs, hhmmmmm maybe the wrong torque specks for the splash shields?

 

I'm guessing the ball joints. That is not precisely the spec. But close.

If that is it, then I'm again guessing a mismatched ball joint and knuckle. The SS has a larger stud than LT/LS.

 

These knuckles ?



Not normally a part that should need replacing. Now, if you are incorrectly installing them or using the wrong part, that could be the issue.
A Fwiw. The SS's FE5 suspension has a different size knuckle/ball joint setup than the regular HHR's FE1,FE3 suspension.

Sounds like you could have some mismatched parts as mentioned by Donbrew above.

 

The torque spec is: 37 ft-lb, then back the nut off 3/4 turn, then 37 ft-lb + 30 degrees.

That's for LT/LS anyway, not sure if SS is the same.

 

Ahh, I did not recall the ball joint retaining bolt!! Yeah a LS/LT stub in the larger SS knuckle would cause a sloppy mess and busted knuckles!!!!

Good one Don, and George!!

 

l am having trouble with knuckles and wearing out lower ball joints.
Have replaced them twice, and now they are worn again.
The tire is wobbly.
Please help if you have had any of these problems.
l have heard that there have been wrong numbers given to replace the ball joints.
thanks anything is appreciated.
robertito
2009 ss with red accents to match my motorhome

 

You have the wrong control arms. The SS control arms use a ball joint with a 20.5mm stud, which matches with the steering knuckle. Non-SS use a 19.5mm ball joint stud and knuckle. Yes, many(in fact, nearly all) parts books are wrong.

The SS ball joints are not available individually.

Control Arms
- GM - P/N: 25930724 - Right
- GM - P/N: 25930725 - Left

Steering Knuckles
GM P/N 25923941 Right
GM P/N 25923942 Left